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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Rescue workers fuel 9/11 quarrel

The Spokesman-Review

Two weeks before work is set to begin on the ground zero memorial, firefighters, police officers and Sept. 11 family members rallied at the site Monday to protest the design and question its safety.

The gathering in bitter cold highlighted the lingering discord between those set to build the $500 million memorial, including the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., and many linked to those it will honor.

Uniformed Firefighters Association President Steve Cassidy told the crowd of about 250, “Firefighters and police officers must be recognized separately.”

But a plan approved by Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg calls for all victims’ names to be listed randomly around two sunken pools that will mark where the twin towers stood. Uniformed responders will be identified only with department insignias next to their names.

The LMDC said later it “will continue to work … to make certain that we build a safe facility that can accommodate the millions of visitors who are expected.”

COLUMBUS, Ohio

Ruling requires wide resentencing

Hundreds of defendants will have to be resentenced because judges considered evidence that wasn’t presented at trial, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Monday.

The unanimous ruling found parts of Ohio’s sentencing law unconstitutional.

The law required judges to consider evidence that a defendant had not admitted to at trial, such as criminal record, which often resulted in longer sentences.

Most of the cases affected by the ruling are repeat offenders or serious drug offenders, the court said.

The ruling follows a 2004 U.S. Supreme Court opinion that threw out similar sentencing guidelines in Washington state on the basis they violated the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of a jury trial.

CHARLESTON, W.Va.

Governor wants shelters in mines

Gov. Joe Manchin on Monday proposed adding emergency shelters to the array of new safety gear mandated in response to what has become one of the deadliest years in West Virginia’s underground mines.

The governor wants all 315 underground mines to contain at least one rescue chamber stocked with enough air, food and water for at least 24 hours.

Manchin’s shelter proposal would amend emergency rules filed earlier this month as part of the state’s new mine safety law.

Manchin also wants to create a six-member Mine Safety Technology Task Force, composed equally of labor and management representatives, to study the feasibility of all the proposed devices.

FAIRFAX, Va.

Circus on trial for spying, theft

The nation’s largest circus went on trial Monday on allegations that it ran an extensive corporate espionage campaign against an animal-rights group and hired a former CIA operative to help conduct the operation.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sued Vienna, Va.-based Feld Entertainment, which produces the Ringling Bros. circus, more than four years ago, claiming the company’s president supervised the spying efforts.

PETA claims circus operatives stole sensitive documents such as donor lists. It is seeking $1.8 million in legal fees and damages, as well as full disclosure of the alleged spying activities.

Kenneth Feld “did not do anything to harm PETA,” said his lawyer, Thomas Cawley. “This case makes no sense except when viewed as one of PETA’s publicity attempts.”

Compiled from wire reports